Joshua Konne, a Professor of Materials Chemistry at the Rivers State University (RSU), has come up with nanotechnology inventions that could greatly help in cleaning up crude oil spills and promote clean energy generation in Nigeria.
During his 135th inaugural lecture held at RSU in Port Harcourt, he revealed that he has developed nanomaterials that can solve the problem of pollution generated by oil drilling activities, providing cheap solutions for the oil industry.
Some of the important inventions include the development of starch-stabilized magnetic nanoparticles using cassava wastewater. He said that the technology was quite efficient in eliminating toxic nickel compounds found in crude oil in the Bomu Oilfield, Rivers State.
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In addition, he noted that the nanoparticles proved superior to the traditional Fenton oxidation technique typically employed to cleanse the oil-contaminated areas, thus making it a better alternative for the remediation of oil-contaminated sites in the Niger Delta region.
Apart from their ability to clean up oil spills, the findings of the study also showed how locally available clay and agricultural wastes can be utilized in producing catalysts to enhance crude oil recovery and biofuel production processes.
The scientist advised HYPREP to invest in the establishment of soil treatment plants as an effort to hasten the process of removing pollutants from the severely contaminated sites, as well as increase investment in research on locally available technologies that could alleviate the environmental effects of oil exploration.
According to him, adoption of local inventions will assist Nigeria in minimizing pollution, increasing environmental sustainability, and developing its oil and gas industry.
